Midnight Serenade
by Bittersweet Shadow
Summary: A mysterious battle at the Capsule C causes the death of 17 people(unkown to be the Z team) A strange evil has struck them in a time of weakness and delivered the final blow. The only problem is, this evil is still around...So, who's going to save Earth
1. Default Chapter

Darkness...  
  
Pain...  
  
It hurts.  
  
Oh, how it hurts...  
  
I'm lying here. I'm lying here and I can't feel the blood ooze down my skin anymore. I can't feel the deep gashes in my chest, so deep and so near my heart. My skin is numb and my eyes...I can't see...Blurry grays are all that grace me, even as the blackness touches the corner of my sight.  
  
I'm dying...Oh, Dende, I'm dying...  
  
He took us up. He struck us down. It was so easy for him. So easy...Why didn't we see it coming? How could one...Single...  
  
How could he do this to everyone?  
  
Traitor. Traitor. That single word rests upon my lips just as the black blood oozes down my chin. He knows what he's done...He's betrayed us all. In one final fit of fury he's betrayed us all. I...I can't understand. The baka yarou seemed so content...Even if a little forlorn at times. Nothing seemed wrong with his life. There was nothing wrong with his life!  
  
So why is he taking ours?  
  
I just don't get it. How in the world was it so easy for him? Yes, we weren't prepared...None of us were prepared to have to suddenly battle one of our own. He just blew up...Right then and there...We didn't expect such a rage to emerge so quickly...  
  
Blood.  
  
Gore.  
  
Cracking bones beneath our own weight.  
  
Power...  
  
Rage.  
  
Little words of what I can remember. The sounds, the feeling...the pain. Yes, I can remember the pain...  
  
They all lie around me now; the whole team that once stood together strongly. Some in pits of char and dirt while other lie in pieces. A couple are still alive, I suppose. Like me. They stare sightlessly to the sky, dreaming of it all to go away...For someone to stand up and make it all stop. "Make it stop...Make it stop"...I can almost hear their voices.  
  
Murmurs. Whimpers. Cries as the lights finally go out and darkness swells around the very existence...I can hear it all. My own join them in a silent chorus, our voices somehow blending into one another. Strange...We were all just one big happy family...and even in death, we still are. He tried so hard to break us...  
  
Him. He's not going to be getting up and telling his triumph any time soon. He got us good. We're lying like ragged dolls, shattered form the fall upon the ground. But,...and I almost say this with a chuckle on my swollen lips, he's lying with us...Laying broken, laying bleeding...He's coming with us, yes he is. He has broken us apart, but he'll never tear the bonds...Our bonds...  
  
You...  
  
I think I hear you somewhere...  
  
Quiet...Yes. But still clear. Your heart...does it still beat? I try to move my aching body; try to look up beyond the dirt clod, grassy ground that's stained with my very blood, to catch a glimpse. Once again, pain is all I know as jagged, shattered bones push beneath my gashed, bruised skin. But, I must...I have to...  
  
Are you there?  
  
He's hurt you, hasn't he? I'm sorry...I should have stopped him...But, how? I guess, I would have if I could...But, I couldn't...And now, as I stare, my stomach pushed against the rough ground and sharp pain electrifying through my very being, I can see a glimmer...Someone laying just beyond me...staring to the trees that surround us...And the Capsule Corp building, it's curve now broken and in ruin. I can almost see it too.  
  
Arms in the dirt, dragging myself slowly, and not so surely, I feel my skin tear...Yet, the pain still doesn't match what I'm feeling inside.  
  
Hatred?  
  
No. Not quite.  
  
Sadness?  
  
It's there...But, that's not it.  
  
Broken...Broken? A broken heart...Maybe because, as I finally reach your frail body and I reach out with those fingers of mine and touch your skin, still so warm, I realize that...This is truly the end. No more waking up to find you at my side...No more sharing a meal, nor sharing a fight, whether in a battle of the sexes or a battle of love...  
  
I suppose I should say goodbye...  
  
But, my lips are sealed shut with the rivers of caked blood that run down my face. And my eyes are growing tired...Tired...So tired...Maybe, if I just close them for a moment...and hold you close, I could keep you for a moment longer...Just a moment longer...  
  
I'm hugging you softly. You're still so warm. Yet, you don't open your eyes or even show that you know it's me. Still, you know. I know you know.  
  
Don't worry, I wont let go...  
  
I promise I wont let go...  
  
You're still so wonderful...I'm remembering some times we've shared. Are you remembering too?  
  
How about, we share a little memory one last time...  
  
Then maybe you'll remember me when I'm gone...  
  
Cold.  
  
You feel a little cold.  
  
You've left me haven't you?  
  
That's ok. I'll be following soon.  
  
And if you see any of the others on their way...Wherever they go, tell them I said "sorry". Just for the sake of it...I want you to remember that too.  
  
Arigato, watashi no koi. And no, I'm not going to say "good bye". Those words would be too harsh at a time like now. I'd rather think that after I close these heavy eyes of mine, I'm going to open them and see you smiling down at me one last time.  
  
One last time...  
  
So, I'll see you soon, I guess. Through moonlight, through sunshine, from world to world to afterworld...One day...I'll see you soon.  
  
Darkness grows stronger  
  
I can't feel your beating heart anymore  
  
Silence is taking over my mind...  
  
My own is slowing. I can feel it growing...Feel it growing ti-..tire...  
  
I don't want to go!  
  
P-please...d-don't...  
  
Please, forgive...me...  
  
P-pl...  
  
  
  
Soon, death swallowed them into its depths, pulling them deep beneath. And as the ambulances finally pulled towards the charred terrains, their sirens whining through the putrid rubble, those who'd perished slipped away...Though, something still left itself behind. 


	2. Midnight Serenade (part 2)

As usual, the world went on, oblivious to the danger and the heroes that once walked in their midst. People turned on their radios and television sets early the next morning to listen to reports of the strange explosions that wracked Japan's center. And as expected, quite a few people were supposedly hurt in the massive destruction that turned the core of the Capsule Corperation into a standing ruin. However, though medics searched high and low and specialists had to come in and study the queer markings and puddles of blood in the dirt, strangely enough,...  
  
no bodies were found...  
  
  
  
~Decades later...~  
  
  
  
"Ms. Kira? Ms. Kira...?"  
  
Sounds...Voices in the background of the darkness.  
  
"Ms. Kira. Wake up...There's something important you need to hear."  
  
"Uhnnn..." Her own voice sounded strange and forlorn on her lips, making her cringe in fatigue. Slowly and not so surely, blue eyes opened to gaze unknowingly at a pale face.  
  
"Ms. Kira..."  
  
"W-Who..."  
  
The most unexplainable cry sounded in the background to her fuzzy senses. It sounded familiar...as if it was to tell her something. Something she was missing...  
  
"Ms. Kira...It's a boy."  
  
"Nani?" she blinked.  
  
"It's a boy. He's so beautiful, Ms. Kira...A beautiful baby boy."  
  
Ms. Kira tried to stir beneath the hospital sheets, looking around to realize where she suddenly was.  
  
"H-hospital...I...What am I..."  
  
Another wail rose from somewhere beyond the two figures. She widened her eyes as rememberance glided through her mind.  
  
"A..."  
  
"Do you want to hold him, Ms. Kira?"  
  
The bed bound woman nodded her head in a silent stupor.  
  
"Yes....Please, I'd like that..."  
  
The same nurse stood from her stooped position and whispered to another nurse nearest her who whispered to the doctor. Every one of them, clothed in white, bustled about the room calmly.  
  
"You've been through a lot, Ms. Kira...I just want you to keep calm when holding him," the doctor murmured to her, a green bundle in his arms. "We don't want you becoming stressed in any way."  
  
"Let me...Let me see..." she managed, holding out her hands with tears forming in her eyes. "Please...I want to see my little miracle..."  
  
He nodded and lowered the wriggling form into her weak arms, pausing only to make sure she held it tightly to her.  
  
"Careful..."  
  
Pushing back the nimble cloth, a deep green that contrasted the white room so surprisingly, she came across a tiny pink pudgey face. It stared back up, it's features now calm with understandace.  
  
Her lips curved to form an "o" as she inhaled with mixed emotions. "He's so..."  
  
"He's beautiful..." a nurse repeated.  
  
"Yes...He is."  
  
"Ms. Kira?" The doctor suddenly piped in. His face, solemn and serious in every way, peered down at her. She looked up.  
  
"We need you to sign a bit of paperwork later and such just to get a couple of things straight...and...We need to know, will your husband be in later?"  
  
Her face fell. Looking down at the baby, she sighed with remorse.  
  
"No...He wont be coming."  
  
One of the nurses exlaimed an,"oh," quite rudely. Ms. Kira ignored the sound.  
  
A sudden quiet flooded the room. However it was soon broken as one of the other nurses leaned into Ms. Kira thoughtfully.  
  
"He's sure going to be a lucky baby..."  
  
"Yes," she suddenly laughed. "I'm going to smother him in affection. Absolute, pure affection."  
  
"Ms.Kira..." yet another broke in, some papers in hand and a pen scribbling with the other.  
  
"Have you thought of a name?"  
  
That made her pause. A name...She hadn't really been considering the idea lately.  
  
"A name? A name...I..." She looked into the baby's eyes, their grayish hazels gazing back up with curiosity.  
  
"A name..." A smile grazed her lips. "A name..."  
  
The room seemed to slow as others waited to hear her finish.  
  
"I think...I'll name you..."  
  
She paused once again, her lips widening and a warmth filling her heart.  
  
  
  
"Gokou." 


	3. Midnight Serenade (part 3)

Don't turn your back  
  
Don't turn your back on me  
  
I'm just a little boy in the big ol' world  
  
Walking behind that big ol' wall  
  
Staring in...You're staring in  
  
Come on, you've got to see  
  
Staring in...I'm reaching out  
  
Be me...Hold me  
  
Know me  
  
  
  
Sixteen years later:  
  
Moonbeams sparkled down gracefully in the open night sky. They trickled, silk beneath winking stars, and settled on the city below, its own bright lights gazing back up. Twas late into the after hours as the sun still trailed the other side of the planet, the people of Osaka Japan fast asleep in their beds. No one walked the lonely city streets. Only the city lights were company to the darkness that flooded every road and alley.  
  
There was, of course, one exception  
  
Hazel eyes stared into the impenetrable sky. Their gaze was shadowed and concealed from the thin passing clouds above. Deep hues seemed almost black compared to the moonbeams that trickled through breakage in the obstructing mist above, an empty contrast to his features.  
  
He stared, unmoving. Even his breath was dampened as his chest barely rose and fell. Solitude seemed to be his form and silence surrounded him thickly. He sat upon a single board bound by twin chains that hung from iron bars above. The one of the two swings creaked back and forth with the boy's weight ever so slowly.  
  
Other playground structures stood about the tiny swing. Monkey bars to his left...The looming shadow of the single slide to his right...Somewhere behind him, the winding metal of artistic design shaped to form a spherical cage, one that used to carry the pounding weight of climbing kids by day. But, now that the night was master of the city the playground stood bare. Only two twin-shadowed hands were there to hold its sturdy chains.  
  
And as the moonlight beamed downwards and a young gaze was fixated up, thin wispy beams of light penetrated through the clouds above. The fragment of incandescence gave him an eerie, half-lit feature that was distorted by dancing shadows across his body.  
  
Slowly and without sound, not even the rustle of his thick red and white jacket upon his shoulders, he raised a nimble hand in front of his eyes and grazed that image of the object in the sky that fixated his imagination so.  
  
"Moonlight..." was his murmur. He exhaled the words in sad awe.  
  
"Moonlight...It's so beautiful..."  
  
The lad lowered his hand slowly, almost feeling the moon's glow smooth across his skin. And as clouds began to shift and the shadows slid away whilst the moon's light began to grow, he laughed the saddest, shortest laugh ever imaginable.  
  
"I wish the night would never end. I feel so much at home when it's dark and the moon is out. Maybe if it lasted forever..."  
  
Lips calmed and eyes averted to the deep sands at his feet.  
  
"Maybe..."  
  
The boy stood. Runner clasped feet pushed against the sand and he moved across the sandbox. He was as silent as if he never existed on the grainy ground.  
  
Words formed with a sigh.  
  
"It's all just another excuse. I can't run away from it all. All just another excuse..."  
  
And just as he slunk to the cement paths that wound their way around oaks and evergreens, stopping suddenly at the road beyond the grassy abode, he paused. Then, turning back to the moon above him, he smiled an apologetic smile. Yet, it was all still suppressed by tired eyes.  
  
"Ja na ne..."  
  
He laughed again and ruffled his jacket calmly. Finally, turning away he walked out into the distance...  
  
  
  
A little in the background the darkness shifted. Beyond the grassy, sandy playground someone moved, dark leather winking dazed. A figure, half straddled on his motor bike, half leaning against the ebony road with a booted foot, stared as the boy wandered out of sight. He didn't make a sound as he stared, almost as captured as the boy had once been to the night sky.  
  
The body shifted again, pulling a deep black helmet back to his head, pushing down the lofty spikes gingerly. He paused only once more to give the almost gone, along the paths, figure one last penetrating look before he snapped it over deep ebony hair and repositioned his bike.  
  
And he rode off without another sign, fast into the night.  
  
  
  
Next day:  
  
"Hoooooooooooooneeeeeeeeeey!!! Wake up!"  
  
Hazel eyes shot open in shock, meeting the glittering white of a ceiling above.  
  
"Honey?" "You're going to be late!"  
  
The poor child sat up with fatigue, his body crying out in protest. The sound of a fist on his bedroom door thudded loudly in his mind, his features twitching, annoyed. With a silent, blurred glance, ebony eyes fastened to the small gray alarm clock that harbored his dresser at the far wall from the base of his bed.  
  
"8:30..." He blinked once...twice...and closed his eyes again before his mind began to un-cloud. Hazel orbs did a double take.  
  
"Krud!!!"  
  
He swung his feet out of the bed like a mad man. Covers flew to nestle in a messy heap on the mattress he'd been laying in only moments ago.  
  
"Mom!" he cried, shoving open dresser drawers to pull out a long pair of deep green jeans. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"  
  
A tall woman, bushels of wavy ebony hair cascading down her back, pushed open his bedroom door from all the way across the room. A never-ending smile bloomed across her ruby lips.  
  
"You were supposed to set your alarm clock, honey. I only just realized you were still asleep when I came upstairs."  
  
The woman had a sturdy, feminine figure, long tender legs protruding from the little apron skirt she wore, and thin slender arms clasped about her hips. Her face was lightly powdered with morning fragrances and her clothes slightly ruffled from all her early obligations. The only strange thing about her was her slim, neko like eyes that forever curved closed in downward "u"s. An eternal happy expression was plastered to her face.  
  
She flashed her watch. "7 minutes, dear, before your tram leaves."  
  
"What!?" Her son froze as he hopped up and down clumsily in the middle of the room. One leg was half stuffed into one of his pant legs while the other pushed against the carpet floor to keep himself steady. "I-I can't make it in 7 minutes! It takes me 10 to just get there!"  
  
"Blame your alarm clock, honey," she smiled. "Better hurry!"  
  
"B-B-Whu..." The boy couldn't begin his frantic protest before his balance melted, cascading him and his pants across the floor.  
  
"6 minutes..."  
  
A cry emitted from the child's lips as he shoved his other leg into the fabric.  
  
"Oh...Whoops! 6 minutes and 20 seconds."  
  
"Mom, you're not helping!"  
  
Her smile widened in sincerity.  
  
"I just don't want my baby late for his first day!"  
  
He looked up in the process of slipping on his t-shirt, half of his thick black hair protruding from the white fabric and only one eye peeking from the neck hole.  
  
"I'm nuff gonna beeflate, mom!"  
  
His mother half walked, half skipped to his closet, basket in arms, to open his closet.  
  
"I know honey. Remember what Mrs. Ikari said? High standards!"  
  
He froze with his checkered green over shirt in his hands. "A high standard...means no lates...means high grades...or no admittance."  
  
"Oh, yes, hon. That's the phrase she used, right? Honey?"  
  
Her eyes opened slightly from emptying his hamper to gaze, behind her.  
  
"Dear?..."  
  
Feet trampled down the spiral stairs like a thousand maddened elephants. The whole house shook as he flew down the object, swinging off in a chaotic jump at the base to run down the hall and to the kitchen. He grabbed his backpack by the breakfast table and shoved it onto his shoulders furiously.  
  
"Dear! Wait!"  
  
The child froze before he reached the sliding glass doors. Looking back through the kitchen he watched his mother scramble, much like him, to the far counter to snatch a large paper bag from its midst.  
  
"Your lunch!"  
  
"Aw, mom..." he sighed.  
  
"There are three sandwiches, a piece of cake from last night's dessert, an apple..."  
  
"Mom! Got no time!" The boy placed a messy kiss on her rosy cheek, grabbing the paper bag from her grasp. "I'll see you later!"  
  
"A banana, a frozen yogurt, some rice, a couple of sushi rolls!..."  
  
He slid open the glass obstructions, re-nestling the light backpack on his shoulders.  
  
"Ja, mom!"  
  
"I packed you a breakfast bagel roll too!!"  
  
A sincere laugh rang from his throat as he waved good bye. His feet stumbled across the grass as he jogged backwards and off the lawn, tripping over the sidewalk to run like a madman down the road.  
  
"Gokou Itaai Kira! Don't you forget to eat your break-..."  
  
But, he was too far out of ear-shot.  
  
"Oh...Gokou."  
  
The saddest expression ever possible for such a happy Onna slunk across the woman's face. She half-heartedly waved in remorse.  
  
"My baby...He's grown so much..."  
  
  
  
Gokou scrambled down the dirty street, his feet pounding like stones across the hardened tar. Arms tore at his sides in long waving strides with every forceful step he took.  
  
The sun shone down upon his covered back, beating heat through the long, open, green over shirt he'd put on before leaving the house. As usual it was blaring hot in Osaka with the exception of the slight breeze and the lingering clouds in the sky that shaded and obstructed everything in their way. Trees sprouted sparsely from the small grassy banks along the sidewalks and reached for whatever sun they could. Bushes here and there, parched to death from the intense heat, just sat, rustling in the wind from time to time.  
  
Man, it was hot...  
  
His long strides lengthened even more in a frantic race. And even as a person would wave and shout his name in acknowledgement, or a car would blare its horn, cheering him on, he focused only in front of him self.  
  
He just had to make it.  
  
"Late...Late...Late! I'm not going to be late!"  
  
His cries were swallowed greedily by his speed. Legs beat even faster.  
  
"Third day, could have been excusable...Second day...maybe! But, my first day!" The boy suddenly had the urge to slap a fist across his face, mid- run. "I hope, for Kame's sake..."  
  
But, he never got to finish the profound statement as he came to a turn in the road. Skidding on his feet and sharply turning left, he jumped the edge that he'd been running, where black met sidewalk. He now pounded his feet against the cement. The book filled backpack upon his back pounded as equally hard.  
  
"Dammit..."  
  
Those knowledgeable, Hazel eyes glanced up to view the houses blurring past, slowly changing from house to house to luxurious condo...Soon, they began to blend with the scenery of stores that packed together as he entered more fully into the city. People began to appear out of no where, walking Osaka's streets in business suits or just casually trailing the sidewalks and peeking in stores from time to time. Even a couple of kids, who really should have been running like mad-men, like him, for school, sat around, either smoking or chatting, relaxed and reassured.  
  
Store signs blared. Voices could be heard everywhere. This was the awakening of the city. Even the thin group of fluttering birds that would make themselves visible from time to time seemed frantic to get the morning started.  
  
Gokou glanced at his watch.  
  
"3 minutes and 4 seconds! Kissama!"  
  
The boy's breath was hard on his lips as his chest heaved over and over again with motivation.  
  
"This...is not...going to end this way!"  
  
He swerved around a sudden bus bench, his side barely skimming it. People had to jump out of his way as he blared on through, some yelling insults after his speeding hide.  
  
"Gomen! Gomen!" Gokou yelled behind himself, not even turning his head to look. Some kids from somewhere, lounging around a store, were even yelling strange jeers his way.  
  
"Come on, man! Slow down and share a smoke wid us!" Agreeing, laughing voices sounded after but, were too far away for Gokou to even bother with. His whole body ached with pure power. Muscles spasmed beneath his clothes and sweat could be felt dribbling down his forehead, beneath his spiky hair.  
  
Swerving around the corner as sidewalk ended and met intersection, he abruptly and painfully stopped. Feet throbbed as he stared, a smile on that tanned face.  
  
"The tram station..."  
  
A tired heart beat beneath his t-shirt as if it would reach and pull itself out of his chest any moment. Placing a hand over the tired organ, Gokou raised his other hand to glance at his watch.  
  
"2 minutes and 30 seconds." The digital appendage stared numbers back up at him. "That's plenty enough!"  
  
He gave a triumphant cry and burst into speed towards the station. It loomed in the midst of some tall business corporation as well as little stores that still lined the city streets. Buses of all sorts parked near and drove away endlessly, as well as people wandered in and out, hurrying and talking about.  
  
In their midst, one boy scrambled through.  
  
It was crowded like an ice cream store in the desert. Everyone was pushing, everyone was shoving...It was hard enough to get to the buses let alone the ticket line....  
  
But he made it.  
  
"One...For......the 230, please..." Gokou could barely breathe in the tiring heat, especially after that mad dash. He leaned into the till, the glass gleaming back at him as a face peered through.  
  
"Where exactly are ya going, boy?"  
  
The boy frowned. "I'm trying to get to school! "Before" my tram leaves! Please, I need a ti-"  
  
"Which school?"  
  
"What? Mr. Please! I-"  
  
"Is it the one on 44th street?" The man behind the glass idly played with some forms as he waited for Gokou's panic to calm down.  
  
"No...43rd..."  
  
He gave a mocking smirk. "Then you'll want to take the 232. Unless you want to end up all the way on the other side 'a town."  
  
Gokou blinked in confusion, his mouth scrunching into a weird expression. Yet, the man just laughed once again, seemingly having this problem with customers often enough.  
  
"Happens all the time, boy. Simple mistake."  
  
"All right mister...One for 232 then." The little orange slip of paper rustled against his fingers as they exchanged. But, the lad had to pause once he had his ticket. "W-wait..." Gokou turned back, catching the man off- guard just as he was about to turn away.  
  
"Which is the 232?"  
  
"A-heh...Well..." the man laughed. He stuck a burly finger through the little hole in the bottom of the glass to point behind the poor boy.  
  
"I shoulda told you before hand, but...there it goes now."  
  
Gokou face faulted right then and there. He only had the moment to spin around and watch as the number 232 shut its doors and began to billow out steam and smoke from the track. Slowly, but surely, it began to pull away.  
  
"N-Noooooooo..." he groaned, half running, half stumbling towards the moving hoard of metal. The tram churned, and the tracks groaned, booming over everything.  
  
He wasn't going to make it...  
  
But, he still wasn't going to give up that easily.  
  
Gokou ran like he'd never run before. His shoes were like fire against his feet and his breath was daggers in his lungs. Even as his body reared up beside the tram, just as it began to gain speed, he didn't stop. People were looking at him like he was a fool...which wasn't far from true, but he didn't care. He had to catch that tram!  
  
It pulled faster and faster...He pushed his legs to the limit, all the while waving like a frantic, hormone driven human to the people inside, hoping someone...somehow...  
  
And as he finally realized his own speed was no match for the vehicle, he began to slow. The lad could only stop in his own tracks to stare as his ticket to a better life left him behind.  
  
Steam still billowed around him. It felt like a blanket of disappointment over his hot skin.  
  
He couldn't believe...  
  
Pain began to well up inside.  
  
He just couldn't believe...  
  
A monstrous sound suddenly pitched up all around, forcing him to cringe and cover his ears frantically. It was like a dragon's pained cry when it echoed through the station, causing almost everyone in earshot to freeze and turn to squint and glare at the obtrusion in their busy day. And slowly, as the drum shattering noise began to quell and all that had stopped in horror began to move away and go back to their hurried business, Gokou looked up.  
  
The tram had stopped...Now "that" he couldn't believe. The boy just stood there, staring with his mouth hanging open at the tram as it sat there, almost awkwardly in somewhat of a predicament. But, Gokou wasn't one to gawk when an opportunity was at hand. Thus, he burst into speed, energy and happiness forming inside again.  
  
//They stopped for me...They actually stopped for me! // was his thoughts, practically skipping towards the oversized vehicle. He was after all, really going to make it.  
  
But, as he neared the frozen tram doubts began to form. Voices inside yelled and boomed, some over the others, in a seemingly gigantic verbal battle. Gokou paused, just outside of one of the tram's doors, unsure of what to do.  
  
"Who the...you think...are?!"  
  
"I ju-...saw....running! Don't you....for Kami's..."  
  
The voices were loud, but he still couldn't quite make out what they were arguing about. And the lad really didn't have the urge to get mixed up in whatever the heck was going on...It could be a hold up for all he knew. So, slowly he began to back away...  
  
But, didn't make it very far.  
  
Abruptly, the tram doors slid open with a giant "swoosh" with the boy right in its midst. Eyes stared out at him, swallowing him like a poorly created piece of art, up and down. People stood inside, some sitting, some standing and holding onto the little plastic handles protruding from the ceiling for balance.  
  
He wanted to crawl into a little ball at his feet right then and there.  
  
"You, boy!"  
  
The sudden intrusion in his nervous thoughts made him jump back to reality. Looking upwards and to the left of the open tram door, he met, gaze to gaze with some man in a large blue suit. The little hat upon his head, if read closely, said:  
  
"SRI 31 Tram Inspector"  
  
"Are you going to get on or are you just here to stare?!"  
  
"I-I'm..."  
  
The overweight tram inspector did not seem to like the stuttering. "Are you getting on, boy!?"  
  
"Hey, man, watch it! Stop trying to scare him off!"  
  
Another voice...strangely quite a bit softer than the tram inspector's...younger too.  
  
"Let him on, for Pete's sake."  
  
The tram inspector turned to someone that Gokou couldn't quite see beyond the opening. The yelling continued.  
  
"I think you should shut your mouth, young man, and sit your keister down before I have you kicked off!"  
  
"Whatever happened to respect the customers, eh bub!? I have a mind to go talk to the owner of this whole station about the disrespect that seems to be flowing about. Man, you can practically inhale it!"  
  
The inspector turned a darker shade of red than his puffy cheeks were before. He pushed his glasses up with an angry finger.  
  
"You...You...!"  
  
"Me, what?" The strange voice melted to mockery.  
  
Other voices started to pipe up as well. Men and woman, tight on the schedule, were getting impatient in the background. "I'm going to be late" and "hurry it up" began to furrow and interrupt the disagreement.  
  
Glancing around, the inspector in the blue suit opened his mustached mouth and turned back to Gokou. But, before he could say another word, Gokou scrambled onto the tram.  
  
"I'm really sorry, sir...It wasn't me that caused all of this trouble, was it?"  
  
The man only gave a snort and ignored Gokou in every way possible. He turned back, watched the tram door shut with another "swoosh" and then he signaled to a man dressed the same as him that stood by the front of the tram with a nod. The other inspector, driver, or whatever he happened to be, moved through to carry the approval to start up again onwards.  
  
"And, you!" he suddenly piped up one more time, pointing a finger over Gokou's shoulder. "You ever touch the emergency brake again, boy, and I'll have security on your rear end so fast..."  
  
A laugh whispered behind. "Whatever..."  
  
Slowly, the inspector swiveled around on his thick, black and shiny shoes to storm away. And finally, Gokou took the moment to turn around him self and peer at the captor of that strange voice.  
  
He was met with a surprise as hazel touched with blue.  
  
Staring into the two deepest, bluest eyes he'd ever seen, Gokou blinked, taken aback. He could feel his heart beat deep in his chest all the way up to his faltering brain that couldn't seem to get a message to his mouth to say something.  
  
"Hey..." was all the opposite boy offered in words. He raised a strangely colored eye brow and gave a little smirk that was both sincere and mocking at the same time.  
  
"H-hey..." Gokou managed. He nodded weakly and looked down at his feet, not knowing how to continue the conversation. But, he didn't have to. The other boy just grabbed his wrist softly as the tram began to move, his skin warm against the others. He pulled Gokou further back into the bus quietly.  
  
They both sat down.  
  
Stretching out in a very relaxed manner, Gokou's captor looked over at the nervous boy and smiled again.  
  
"You're quite the determined one, you know."  
  
"Nani?" Gokou blinked.  
  
"When you were running. Outside of the tram?"  
  
"Oh...you saw me?"  
  
"Yep. You were kind of hard to miss. Almost funny actually...seeing you running down the tram tracks. Kind of like a headless chicken."  
  
Gokou tried his best not to give the queer boy a screwy look. His mutter was quiet and forced as he let out an: "Uh, thanks..."  
  
"You seem pretty dang lost to be riding the bus. Let me guess. You're new at this? Ne?"  
  
But, Gokou's thoughts were wandering elsewhere when he began to think. And as the taller boy stared downwards at him, waiting for some kind of response to show that he hadn't just wandered into the twilight zone, Gokou looked up.  
  
"Wait a minute...Wait a minute!" Hazel eyes re-met with his blue as he spoke.  
  
"Why exactly was that man yelling at you...?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Why was he yelling at you? If you don't mind me...asking..."  
  
The strange lad blinked back at him, slightly surprised at the boy's sudden outburst. He moved a hand to brush back a couple of straying strands of deep purple hair, an expression of seriousness rushing over his features.  
  
"Kind of nosey, aren't you?" His voice had a hint of subtle annoyance.  
  
It was Gokou's turn to blush as he removed his eyes from the other's stare.  
  
"Gomen...I didn't mean to..."  
  
"Well, you were."  
  
"I just thought..."  
  
However, it seemed like his annoyed companion wasn't listening anymore. He turned his head away to stare down the length of the tram and the direction that they were heading. Trees, construction and buildings passed them on either side.  
  
Gokou stared at his lap, twiddling his thumbs, ashamed. This new experience of school wasn't turning out to be as glorious as he'd expected...and he hadn't even gotten there yet! Regret was running clear through his mind.  
  
"So where are you going?"  
  
His ebony spikes bounced with the bob of his head, caught off guard. "Me? Oh...Well..."  
  
"What? Is it because of something bad?"  
  
"N-no! I'm just..."  
  
The other lad played with the white folded collar of his clothes and leaned in to whisper:  
  
"You running away from home?"  
  
Gokou had to laugh, running a nervous hand through his lofty hair at the same time. "No no no! That's insane." He inhaled. "If you really want to know I'm heading for school."  
  
"So there's no police involved?"  
  
The much less glamorously dressed boy looked at the other, skeptical if he was actually sitting by a human being. But, only a laughing smile filled his view and soon he got the clear message. Everything was ok between the two of them again. His own smile was sent back.  
  
Gokou took the moment to look him up and down. "You seem pretty dressed by the code," he kindly stated. Still, you look a little to young to be working."  
  
The other looked down at him self, taking in the casual suit he sported upon his young body. Long blue dress pants and a matching long-sleeved shirt was what he wore. Beneath the unbuttoned and open top material peeked a white dress shirt, plain and soft in its absence of color.  
  
"School uniform," he answered. "I have to wear it."  
  
"Ah."  
  
"And you," he spoke again,"look like you're heading out for a rave party."  
  
Gokou rolled his eyes and shifted on the plastic covered seat. "It's all I had at the moment. I was kind of in a hurry anyways."  
  
"Fair enough..." The two nodded towards each other, the conversation dying down as silence took its chance to lapse in between them. The only other sounds came from the rest of the tram's occupants. People's voices were everywhere and the sounds of laptops and cell phones were a subtle part of the background. Yet, one voice, serious and firm stood out from them all. Someone's mini-radio was a little too loud...  
  
"Thank you. Reporter Kaiye on the scene.  
  
There you have it: weird occurrences in Japan. Mysteriously, though, no suspects have been uncovered in the murder. Police are baffled to the ultimate on this inhuman case as not even the slightest strand of evidence could be found to give a lead to any capture. More news on the story at nine. Now to Tokyo with Hatuuchi Gizaimisu..."  
  
Gokou tried to pitch his ears to listen to the radio a little more clearly. But, whoever the owner of the appliance was turned it down too quickly.  
  
"Did you hear that?" Gokou muttered to his companion, forgetting once again he'd only met the boy minutes ago.  
  
"Yah, so?"  
  
"I was just thinking..." He paused, looking up at the other's confused look and then back down at the dirty metal floor beneath their feet. "Never mind..."  
  
"Ok..." The opposite boy quirked an eyebrow like so many a time, staring at Gokou queerly. But, Gokou just brushed it off.  
  
"No big deal. I was just curious."  
  
"All right."  
  
Another voice called out from the speakers lining the roof of the tram. Yet, this one sounded almost mechanical and forced. They both jumped at the intrusion.  
  
"Next stop: the Odyasa Station, western Osaka, forty-third street. Once again, next stop: the Odyasa Station, Western Osaka, forty third street."  
  
"That's my stop!"  
  
"You sure?"  
  
Gokou nodded sadly. "Yah...uh..." He stood to clutch one of the balance straps while replacing his backpack to a more comfortable position on his shoulders. "You know, it was really great getting to know you and all. I really appreciate it."  
  
"That's good," he nodded, leaning back in the seat to place his hands behind his head, relaxed.  
  
The metal floor beneath their feet shifted, signaling that the motion of the tram was starting to slow. A few others began to shuffle and stand, grabbing their things.  
  
"Well, I'll see you on the tram later? Maybe tomorrow?"  
  
Purple strands shimmered as he shook his head with a soft laugh. "Nope. I only take the tram on the off chance. I couldn't catch a ride with my bro so..." He shrugged with a half smile to emphasize the point. "Plus ol' chub chub over there," he nodded towards the inspector from before at the front of the bus, "wouldn't appreciate having to see me all the time."  
  
Gokou's face fell as he mouthed an "oh" and "I understand". Hands idly brushed back some of his thick spikes from his face only to move back into the exact same rugged position. "That's too bad...really."  
  
His mystery companion nodded again. And as the whole tram jerked into a sudden stop and a small crowd of people began to push off their seats and hurry towards the soon to be open doors, Gokou shifted himself.  
  
"Well, maybe on the off occasion." He shook a calm hand. "Ja and have a good day." Hazel eyes sparkled in time with his sincere smile, though something was hidden beneath. And when he moved away the tram doors swooshed open with a snake-like hiss.  
  
Feet thumped along the metal floor all the way to the opening. But, before his tall body could make it off he paused. Turning back, he called out:  
  
"Hey, I never got to know your name!"  
  
Blue eyes looked up from his lap. Calmly, he called back:  
  
"What do you care? You're never going to see me again."  
  
Gokou took two steps back towards him. "Maybe I'll see you in a crowd some day. Then I could give you a wave."  
  
The boy gave him a funny look, something Gokou was getting quite used to. Now, the tram was practically empty of all those getting off, with the exception the odd person or two still gathering their stuff. The same voice broke through.  
  
"All those getting off, please exit the tram immediately. Thirty six seconds until continuation."  
  
"Ah..." Gokou looked up to those same speakers and then to his watch. Sadly, he glanced back. "You know what, never mind. Sorry for bothering you...sir." He moved back, staring angrily at his sneakers, to disappear out the exit.  
  
"Trunks!"  
  
But, he had to freeze, looking back up towards that same boy.  
  
"Nani? I mean...pardon?"  
  
"My name...its Trunks."  
  
Gokou was somewhat speechless. Still, his expression went from remorse to gratis faction and right down to curiosity.  
  
"That's kind of a strange..."  
  
"Ah!" Trunks abruptly interrupted, holding up a tanned hand. "Don't start...I know. I know."  
  
They both shared a look of satisfaction between the two; almost a feeling of fulfillment.  
  
"Then, nice to meet you Trunks. My name's Gokou. See you around."  
  
"Yah...sure..." Trunks half-heartedly called back, just loud enough for Gokou to hear. He took the last moment to stare back into his lap, hiding his blue eyes from view.  
  
"And, Trunks!"  
  
A look of startlement emitted from his features. Gokou still stood there, the goofiest grin on his face.  
  
"I forgot to say thank you! Arigato for pulling the emergency brake for me!"  
  
First a blank look was all received. But, it melted instantly into a smile warm enough to melt solid ice.  
  
"No prob, man," he grinned. "No prob at all."  
  
Thus, with the briefest peace sign and a final wave, Gokou stepped down and off of the tram, leaving the boy in peace.  
  
  
  
*******************************  
  
Behind the scene of noisy people and beyond Trunks' point of view, a figure stood silently. Grabbing his things, he shifted from the very back seat of the tram, slinking towards one of the four open tram doors to step out in one fluent motion.  
  
No one seemed to notice him.  
  
And while he glided across the hard cement ground of the tram station he began to pull something out from a deep pocket, quickly hiding it beneath his palm and upper arm awkwardly. For only a moment, it flashed in the sunlight, seeming pale and bloodstained.  
  
His sights were set straight ahead as he pushed through the people. He could feel the tram begin to stifle up and move away, its noise deep and piercing behind him. People around him shuffled and pushed, some kindly moving out of the way and some rudely pushing past.  
  
But, none of it mattered...None of it as plainly and as clearly as the image in front. He eventually pulled the knife from beneath his palm to hold it at his side while pushing out of the tram station, following the only image that existed in his sights.  
  
Not once did Gokou see it coming... 


End file.
